Apr 6, 2013

ScienceOnlineTeen - An unconference

Next Saturday (April 13), ScienceOnlineTeen
– a conference bringing scientists, students and teachers together to share
ideas – will take place in New York. Since some members
of Queer STS repeatedly work on research projects with teens (Engineer Your Sound!,Picture.it and currently useITsmartly),
we like this idea and would like to share some more information about it in this blog. So we contacted Stacy Baker, the creator and organizer of
ScienceOnlineTeen, and had a little Q & A with her.

Q: ScienceOnlineTeen
is a conference addressing scientists, students, and teachers and is about how
the Web influences the way science is done and communicated. Why this
conference, what would you like it to provide the target groups with?

Stacy Baker: Typical conferences involve speakers talking to
the audience, not with the audience. They use presentations and not
conversations. ScienceOnlineTeen aims to provide more of an informal,
conversational, networking experience for teens and teachers. We believe very
strongly that the teens and teachers have just as many great ideas to
communicate to the scientists as the scientists have to communicate with them.
So, what really sets us apart is this idea of equal sharing of ideas and giving
power and a voice to teens. Discussions will be centered around how science is
communicated via social media and how the Web is changing the way we think
about science. Social media has made it easier for people to interact and we
hope to get more teens interested in getting involved with online science
communities.

Q: Looking at the program, there are many names and topics listed in the
sessions. How does the design of the conference work?

S. B.: Yes, there are four session blocks with concurrent
sessions running during each block. So, participants choose one topic to attend
in each block. There's one exception; the third block is a blitz session and
involves more free form discussions and participants floating around to
different "idea" rooms. They are more about quick bursts of
imagination and idea sharing. This includes an online streaming room where we'll
be using Google + Hangouts to interact with the
online audience. The final session is a workshop where participants try to put
into action some of the ideas they've developed earlier on in the day. Another
thing that really sets our conference apart is that we have built into the
program many, long break periods to encourage mingling and networking. We want
participants to converse one-on-one with each other and not be limited to a
group discussion.

Q: There is an
amazing variety of people participating in the
conference and moderating sessions. How did you win them for contributing in
ScienceOnlineTeen? Or put differently: What is their motivation to join
ScienceOnlineTeen?

S. B.: ScienceOnlineTeen is the first topical, regional
event inspired by the main ScienceOnline event that
takes place in North Carolina each year. That event is directed at adults and
only a small number of teens attend each year. So, I wanted to create an event
just like the one in North Carolina that reaches more teens and teachers. A lot
of the people who jumped on board for ScioTeen have met me over the years at ScienceOnline and have even worked with my students in
the past. They already know what a great community ScienceOnline is and they
are eager to be involved in new projects associated with it. So, it wasn't too
hard finding a lot of amazing people to get involved. I think many of the new
moderators wanted to join the event because they really appreciate what we're
trying to do. Convincing teens and teachers to attend was a little harder at first
as most have never attended an "unconference" before and so they
weren't quite sure what to make of the event. But, now we're completely full
and the teens and teachers who are coming are very excited to attend.

Q: ScienceOnlineTeen
takes place in New York City but, as the title suggests, the conference is
about science and the Internet. How can non-local teens, scientists and
teachers get involved in the event?

S. B.: There are multiple ways to interact with participants
online. We'll have a Google+ Hangout from
2:00-2:50 EST [that’s 8:00-8:50 p.m. CET] during the conference where
participants will chat with the online audience about what they've been
discussing at the event. Several of the session moderators will go online for a
few minutes each to interact with the online audience. The link to the Hangout
will be published on the conference websitethe
morning of the event and it will be streamed on YouTube.
Another way to interact is to use the hashtag #scioteen to join the
conversations that take place on Twitter during
the event.
And yet another way to interact is to comment to the Learnistboards where we'll be live posting notes from each of the sessions. The
online audience can comment to the notes and ask questions. You have to sign up
for a free Learnist account in order to leave comments. The link to all of the
session Learnist boards will be available on the conferencewebsite.

Q: Are there any
plans yet for another ScienceOnlineTeen-event, maybe with a more international
audience via Web-based participation?

S. B.: If another ScioTeen event is held in the future I
hope to have more of the sessions streamed online. I have to be careful about
privacy concerns considering many of our participants are minors, so a 100%
online streamed event is unlikely. But, I'd also like to consider doing it in a
different city just to broaden the outreach. If anyone is interested in holding
a ScioTeen event in Europe or somewhere else international they should
definitely get in touch with me!

About
Stacy Baker: She
is the creator and organizer of ScienceOnlineTeen. She is a science and
technology teacher in NYC. She started a class blog with her biology students
seven years ago called Extreme Biology which led to her ongoing involvement in
the ScienceOnline community. Stacy’s students have appeared on NPR and in online magazines and countless newspapers for their science writing. Contact Stacy Baker: scioteen@scienceonline.com